Science predicting how long we will live: EU-funded lifespan research
Although for most people, knowledge about our lifespans involves questions often best left unanswered, it could have positive implications for medical science. Now researchers from the University of Glasgow and the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom might have developed a new way to find out how long individuals will live, based on a DNA analysis. The team's findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, show that scientists can obtain a good indication of a life's duration using the length of specialised pieces of DNA called telomeres, early on in life. Telomeres are found at the ends of chromosomes, which contain our complete genetic code. They work in the same way as the plastic caps at the end of shoelaces - marking the chromosome ends and protecting them from various processes that would otherwise cause the ends to wear away gradually. If the telomere wears away, cells can start malfunctioning. The measurements the team collected helped them deduce that telomere length in early life strongly correlates to subsequent lifespan. As these DNA-protecting caps can be found in both animals and plants, the team looked at telomere lengths in small samples of blood cells taken at various ages in a group of zebra finches whose lifespan varied from just 210 days to almost 9 years. They looked at telomere length in the nestling stage and at various points thereafter. From these results, they can make assumptions about human lifespans too. The best predictor of longevity was telomere length at just 25 days. It is important in the process to measures telomere length in the same individuals from early life, and then repeatedly during the rest of their natural lives. Dr Britt Heidinger, from the University of Glasgow, comments: 'While there was a lot of variation amongst individuals in telomere length, those birds that lived longest had the longest telomeres at every measurement point.' However, other factors can come into play too. Although variation in telomere length is partly attributable to inheritance factors, it can also vary due to environmental factors such as exposure to stress, as fellow Glasgow Professor on the study, Pat Monaghan, comments: 'Our study shows the great importance of processes acting early in life. We now need to know more about how early life conditions can influence the pattern of telomere loss, and the relative importance of inherited and environmental factors. This is the main focus of our current research.' The study received a funding boost from the European Research Council (ERC). The ERC's main aim is to encourage high-quality research in Europe through competitive funding, and to support investigator-initiated frontier research across all fields of research, on the basis of scientific excellence. The ERC complements other funding activities in Europe such as those of the national research funding agencies, and is a flagship component of the 'Ideas' Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).For more information, please visit: University of Glasgow: http://www.gla.ac.uk/
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